Carefully thought-out stories. . . Patterns of interaction between past and present are sounded out to good effect.

Lively has guts and style. . . You are in the hands of a master

Her new collection of short stories is perfect. It is a very wide range of short stories and each one has an unexpected twist in the tale.

Thoughtful, intelligent and light of touch . . . Lively has the gift, rare and wonderful, of being able to peel back the layers one by one and set them before us, translucent and gleaming.

Spry and world-wise, The Purple Swamp Hen is an enchanting story that sets the tone for the rest of this stellar collection.

More stylish than many writers half her age . . . Lively knows a thing or two about storytelling.

Lively is now nearly 80 but, as How It All Began shows, there is no diminution of her skills . . . Lively is a writer of craft and sagacity and such old fashioned virtues trump the chic but meretricious every time.

Penelope Lively at her best, sharp-eyed but sympathetic, deftly steering the reader from one point of view to another. This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones.

Lively skilfully mingles past and present, as she peels away the layers to uncover a family secret of which no one speaks...Lively's astute skewering of family relations reverberates in the mind long afterwards.

Gorgeous

Sensuous and beautiful prose...proof that the best novelists change and grow.

Neatly constructed, lucidly written and full of admirable sentiments.

Masterful. Transforms the every day into something rich.

[With] flashes of transcendence ... Ferris's specialist area is modern American crassness

Ferris' characters may be flawed, but his writing is flawless

Each of these stories is a well-crafted, tightly wound piece of short fiction that often springs with a delightful, sometimes moving precision

Ferris wittily skewers both middle-class social life, and its would-be dissenters. He has a brilliantly sharp eye for the manners and mores of 21st-century metropolitan society, and is a master of discomfort. . . Like F Scott Fitzgerald before him, Joshua Ferris shines an unforgiving light on the jittery pursuit of happiness, and 'the growing anxiety of never arriving at what was always just out of reach'

At turns arresting and hilarious. Ferris excavates relationships, interactions, missteps, and misunderstandings to form a collection of work you'll want to return to again and again

Most of the characters are comparatively sane, but no less deliciously ghastly

Anxiety, self-consciousness and humiliation are the default inner states of the characters in these 11 stories

A strange, fantastical squelch through watery East Anglia...one of the most impressive collections of short stories in recent years

An undeniably enjoyable dose of escapism

Mark Haddon has become a master of the short story…this new collection intrigues and horrifies by turn

Gripping tale… Told with forensic precision.

Exuberant, lusty exercises in juxtaposition… Such contrasts not only power each piece but also act as a form of call and response across them… Terrifically compelling collection.

Impressive but forbiddingly lightless collection. There’s no doubt about Haddon’s skill.

Have you ever read a book that made you gasp out loud and nearly burst into tears? The title story…had that effect on me… Haddon is able to give human tragedy the due solemnity it deserves but without being po-faced. A wonderful collection.

Guaranteed to keep me riveted.

Gripping… Packs the action and themes that might power a very full novel into less than 70 pages

Scintillating first foray into the shorter form… Beautifully crafted… A challenging and idiosyncratic talent, with a memorable way with words.

[Haddon] portrays the nightmares of our own society…with astonishing deftness, mixing black humour and pathos.

The Pier Falls had me gasping in disbelief.

[It was] grim and compelling… [A] ripping, gripping yarn – narrative velcro.

I savoured all the atmospheric short stories in The Pier Falls.

An enthralling short story collection; dark, immersive stories with lots of action. The writing is tight and inspiring.

[A] searing collection of short stories that thrill and chill in equal measure.

I was also captivated by the dark A Pier Falls, a brilliantly written collection of bleak and brutal short stories.

I adored The Pier Falls… Each story is wildly entertaining and well written.

[It] proves the capacity of a short story to immerse the reader fully in a fictional world.

This short-story collection is thrilling and exquisitely written. I gave out several copies as Christmas presents.

An exquisite writer.

Mesmerisingly good stories, hugely varied, skilfully written, full of deft touches and narrative shocks... an absolute treat